Monday, January 27, 2014

Post Grad (2009) [PG-13] **+

Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) is an eternal optimist who has just graduated from college and has an interview at a prominent L.A. book publisher. Unfortunately, she doesn't get the job, and she's forced to move back home with her truly dysfunctional family: her father Walter (Michael Keaton) who's a gullible entrepreneur; her mother Carmella (Jane Lynch) who coddles her pre-teen brother Hunter (Bobby Coleman); and her grandmother Maureen (Carol Burnett) who is rude, confrontational, doesn't trust banks and carries around large sums of money.While Ryden frantically searches for a job, any job that would get her out of the house, her long-time best friend Adam (Zach Gilford) grows weary of declaring his love for her while she continues to ignore him. Meanwhile, she grows increasingly attracted to her older neighbor David (Rodrigo Santoro) who creates TV infomercials and offers her a production assistant job to mask his real intention, which is to seduce her.Written by novice writer Kelly Fremon, and directed by Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale), this film is yet another mildly humorous comedy about a dysfunctional family. The screenplay is totally derivative with many scenes feeling as though they were lifted directly from Parenthood or Georgia Rule. The dialog is uninspired, the story arc is totally predictable, the direction is sloppy and the actors sleepwalk through their performances. The only reason to watch this film is to enjoy Alexis Bledel. Unfortunately, while she was competent as an ensemble cast member in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel, she's never been asked to open a film, and it's clear that, at 28, she's still not strong enough to carry it off. Even with editing to give Michael Keaton a larger role, the result is disappointing. Only forgiving fans of Alexis Bledel need bother with this bit of mindless fluff; others should pass. Labels: comedy, romance Internet Movie DatabaseMetacritic 35/100RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=36, viewers=54)Blu-ray